Benjamin Staffeldt grew up on a farm and works in a garden center so when he and his wife Sara moved into a rental home (a duplex), it was only natural he’d want to start farming his (shared) backyard. They began with containers and then bought a kit greenhouse to extend the growing season and were selling to local supermarkets and restaurants, but the heating bills to farm during Wisconsin winters (with temperatures as low as -70°F) was cutting sharply into their profits.

They knew they had to maximize greenhouse space so they decided to grow vertical and to grow differently. They experimented with hydroponics and finally settled on aeroponics. “So aeroponics is similar to hydroponics using water rather than soil, but it’s mist,” explains Benjamin. “It’s a mist that comes on inside the growing chamber, and it comes on every 3 minutes for 10 seconds, it’s a really high oxygen water that’s hitting that root. The method was actually developed and is being used by NASA because it uses so much less water and the speed of growth is much faster.”

To fully customize the growing experience, they added a thermal wrap to their aeroponics towers which helps refract light to help keep the temperature stable within the grow chambers. They’re now growing enough in their 10′ by 12′ greenhouse for farming to be Sara’s full-time job.

They’re hoping to commercialize their hybrid system- what they call Art Garden. It’s geared toward those looking to grow in a cold climate and in a small space (one unit fits into 4 square feet). This is all part of an increasingly customized growing world that Ben hopes might make farmers out of more of us.

Art Garden: artgardenllc.wix.com

Original story: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/backyard-aeroponics-self-sustaining-farm-for-wisconsin-cold/
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Backyard aeroponics: self-sustaining farm for Wisconsin cold

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20 Comments

  • Rodolfo Escontrias

    my name is Moses rene arreola rascon modretti im a rastafari yogi vegan seed scattering scientist herbsman engineer farmer builder volunteer this is my friends account

  • Margaret Arross

    Good work. You have enough brain power and technical savvy to go far with your own food production. Thanks for sharing your project with us.

  • VPieko

    You do know that this is NOT an aeroponics system and NOT the thing NASA uses.
    Your pressure is way too low and your misters don't make a mist. You are basically just pointing your garden hose at those roots and drenching them in water. You got to get your water droplet size lower than 50 micron. This is more kinda like deep water culture or nutrient film technique. By doing so you bypass all the pro's of growing with aeroponics.

    On the other hand, it's still a nice system that does not need a growing medium and your plants are doing fine. Love your battle against nature :-D

  • Ilya Shilov

    I love what your doing and teaching others in the process, could you tell us more about the greenhouses your using? Esp the larger one, what brand and $? Interested in acquiring one

  • Swogetti Swindon

    25:05 "Thats the most down to earth thing you can do"
    not using earth
    Is the recipie for that water more than NPK fertilizer plus rainwater and if, what is it?
    Also: Is this NASA paper he is refering to publicly available?

  • Missy Rabbit

    I love the tomatoes. This is one of the most overall informative videos I have seen. Maybe you could build a 2nd wood frame greenhouse around the Harbor Freight one, using a higher pitch fiberglass roof to allow snow runoff. This would add a 2nd insulation for your more fragile plants in greenhouse #1. You could put the sturdier plants in greenhouse #2 . Then place hay or straw bales around greenhouse #2 and wrap the sides with heavy tarp. When winter over, throw hay/straw in compost pile. For heat, I prefer chicken heat lamps on alternating timers so the individual bulbs don't overheat. Maybe place them under hanging seeding tray so rising heat will warm the roots while bulb heat will warm lower area. Leave some space between the lights and bottom of tray. If you decide to throw insulation board on roof, you will need some grow lamps. If not, then maybe some extra fiberglass panels on ceiling should stop the snow. Looks damned cold! Bbbbbbrrrrrr…….

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